Kreiz in as Endemol CEO

Global producer and distributor Endemol has appointed media investment specialist and former Fox Kids Europe (now Jetix) boss Ynon Kreiz CEO.

After his five-year stint at Fox Kids, which came to an end in 2002, Kreiz was general partner at private equity firm Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital) and was on the boards of sports broadcaster Setanta and software publisher Codemasters.

Kreiz will replace Aat Schouwenaar who was appointed Endemol CEO for a second time in 2007 after Telefonica sold Endemol to a group of investors comprising Goldman Sachs, Mediaset and Telecinco and John De Mol’s Cyrte Investments.

Kreiz will start work at Endemol on June 1. "Endemol has the opportunity to dramatically expand its business and play a key role in driving convergence between media and technology," he said.

Endemol has traditionally specialised in producing and distributing formats, but in recent times has moved into scripted programming and digital media.